On Monday, January 20, the Minister of Infrastructure, in charge of urban development, transportation, and communications, began an administrative investigation into private television stations Globovisión and Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV), claiming that they needed to examine their television programs which allegedly violated rules in the Code on Radio Communications and the Partial Code on Television Transmissions.
The recommendation to verify and determine the incompliance of these rules came from a request made by the National Commission on Telecommunications, signed by the Minister of Infrastructure, stating that both stations had broadcast advertising aimed at creating disorder, spreading false information, and disrespecting institutitions and public authorities, among other allegations.
Rafael Molina, Chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, spoke out about “the serious danger of taking extreme measures against RCTV and Globovisión,” after the 15-day period given to both stations to present arguments before the Minister of Infrastructure, an agency that has the ability to sanction or revoke the concession of licenses of electronic media, had expired.
“The review of the content of television programming is a desparate act of the government and a violation of freedom of expression”, warned Molina, director of the Dominican magazine Ahora, who also referred to one of the 10 principles of the Declaration of Chapultepec which states, “prior censorship, restrictions on the circulation of the media or dissemination of their reports, arbitrary management of information, the imposition of obstacles to the free flow of news, and restrictions on the activities and movements of journalists directly contradict freedom of the press.”
He added that “it is absurd that some of the material to be reviewed by the government agency are special reports, headlines on the national strike last December, as well as announcements from the Democratic Coordinator, made up of opposition parties, for having aired information of national and international interest during hours reserved for children’s programming.”
“Sadly, we are not surprised by these latest acts of intimidation and
harassment against the media and journalists, which during this heated climate
of political confrontations the country faces, has become one of the targets
of intolerance,” he concluded.
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